Welcome to the Mammals Collection & the Reed Lab

There are over 5,000 species of mammals worldwide and more are being discovered all the time. They range in size from the tiny bumblebee bat (1.5 grams) to the blue whale (over 100 tons). Mammals live in diverse habitats from desert to ocean. They fly, swim, run, glide, hop and much more. They live on all seven continents if you count marine mammals in Antarctica. Mammals are incredibly diverse and are exciting to study.

Here at the Museum we study the evolutionary history of mammals. We primarily do this by examining their DNA, which carries a written record of their past. We also study the parasites of mammals, which in many cases have evolved in tandem with their mammalian hosts for millions of years. You can explore our research projects using the link on the right.

In addition to conducting research on mammals we educate the public about mammals in various ways, which can be seen using the link labeled Outreach. The Museum contains over 32,000 mammals in its collection, and the data associated with those specimens can be searched using the link on the right labeled Mammal Collection.